Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-03-30
"sBosh!' shouted the doctor.
"fBut / did, sir

"tLook here, Saunders, | shall report
to the warden that you had best be
to the blacksmith shop.
When g. scrub convict has the audac-
luy to stand up and tell the prison
doctor that be doesn't know his bust.
ness. one or the other should CO.
"'But [ meant no disrespect, SIR
"sPerhaps not; but when I pro-
nounce man dead OF tiefoid lever
aye, when / have already made my
report to that eff5ct-he is either dead |
or Pm q cussed FOOL
"'Yes, sir; yes, sir. was probably
sir, and I'll promise that
this does not happen again. Please
forgive me, sir. [ must have been g.
little nervous
"Well, I'll overlook it this time,
but be more careful in future. Have
him buried as soon as it Is dark.
don't like the idea of keeping dead |
folks around here
"Soon after dusk the wagon drove
out of the prison yard with its burden
of death, and the burial party con-
sisted OF citizen employed for the
purpose and trusty convict. They
had the grave to dig, and they had
not yet completed it when we arrived
on the ground and carefully crept TO
g. position within earshOt. They were
in hurry to have the job off their
hands, and they had not gone down
over two feet whom the citizen en-
ploye OF the prison said to the con-
vict:
"'That's deep enough for him or
any other dead man. NObody's to
know whether he's two Or seven feet
down.
"Uorrect you are replied the con
vict, as he got out OF the hole. L
came near getting into trouble with
the doctor over this fellow
"sHow?'
"As l put the lid on the coffin l saw
his eyelids 6utter and his chest heave,
and went to the doctor with it. The
old fraud threatened to take my soft
snap away
"'You might have been deceived
"Never. I'm certain that we are
burying the poor devil alive; but
that's nothing to you or me. He'll
be dead enough by the time all the
dirt is on top of him.
fright you are. He might as well
be buried alive in this hole as to die
by inches in the prison. Grab hold,
now, and we'll do him the good turn
to let him down gently
""Fhey made only ten minutes
work Of filing up the grave, and they
had scarcely reached their wagon
when the two of us were throwing out
the dirt. When we came to the coffin
We lifted it out, removed the lid, took
out the body, and then the coffin WAS
returned to the grave and the dirt
shoveled back. In three-quarters of
an hour from Harney's first burial we
had him in our quarters and had es'
capped any chance for suspicion OF
body. snatching. During our last In.
terview in prison he had exacted OF
me the promise that I would make no
efforts st resuscitation until twenty
four hours had passed. He intended
| to die for just that period OF time, and
he firmly believed his will could control
events. After twentyfour hours had
passed I was at liberty to use any
means I thought best. We undressed
the body, wrapped it in wooden blank
cts, and laid it on bed. On a stand
beside the bed we placed water, wine
and food, and then left the room and
turned the key In the door. This was
at IL o'clock at night, and Harvey
had been dead eight hours. The
twenty-four hours would not expire
until o'clock in the afternoon Of the
next day.
"We did notgo near the room until
| half an hour before the expected time,
and the moment we looked on the
! dead mans face we realized that re-
! action had set in. The pallor was dis
appearing, color was returning to the
| lips, and there was moisture which
| felt warm to the touch. We drew up
our chairs without a. word, and paid
/ the keenest attention to what was to
outrival any experience In any DOCTOR
career. At a quarter to there was
futter of the eyelids, and put my
head on his heart and could detect q
faintspulsation. The color continued
to come to his face, signs of life were
multiplied each moment, and at five
minutes to 8 Harvey opened his eyes
and looked full at US. We saw at once
that he was conscious and in posses
sion Of his senses, and l bent over
him and whispered:
"' We have kept our promise. You
died in prison, were buried by the
officials, and we dug you up and
brought you here. It is just twenty
four hours. Remain quiet until your
strength returns
81 fed him wine and food, and five
minutes later he dropped off into a
natural and healthy sleep, which
lasted four hours. When he awoke
he was ready to sit up and to talk,
and, after eating and drinking very
heartily, he WAS able to walk across
the room. When asked for his ex-
perience he replied:
"'The only way I can describe it is
to say that lay down on my back on
the floor, held my breath, closed my
eyes, and gradually became uncon-
scious. It was perhaps ten minutes
before l lost my senses. It was like
falliog asleep, only it seemed as if !
To ~